Daily consumption of essence of chicken improves cognitive function: a systematically searched meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Essence of chicken (EC) is a dietary supplement with potential benefits on one's cognitive performance. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to evaluate the effects of consuming EC on cognitive function, applying extensively represented domains. Six databases were systematically searched to yield 1760 articles. These articles were independently screened to obtain 8 eligible articles with a pooled population of 794 subjects which is more than twice the population size considered in the previous meta-analyses. Largely, favorable effects on cognitive function were observed following daily EC intake, specifically in the working memory domain (standardized mean difference: 0.31, 95% CI: 0.16, 0.46), one of the core components in executive function which showed statistically significant results. Furthermore, the observed results were also robust to sensitivity analyses and subgroup analyses. This suggests that when consumed daily, EC may improve the mental processing aspect of cognitive function amongst the healthy population.

Effects of fatty acids composition in a breakfast meal on the postprandial lipid responses: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

Replacement of food rich in saturated fatty acids (SFAs) with unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) is a well-known dietary strategy to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease while its impact on postprandial blood lipids is less examined. This study assessed the effects of fatty acids composition on the postprandial triglycerides and cholesterol responses. Seventeen randomised controlled trials were identified and pooled analysis results revealed that consumption of a UFAs-rich or an SFAs-rich breakfast meal did not acutely affect postprandial triglycerides and cholesterol responses. However, subgroup analysis observed that triglycerides incremental area under the curve was lower with an SFAs-rich meal (SMD: -0.36; 95% CI: -0.57, -0.15) over a less than 8 h duration, while was higher (SMD: 0.59; 95% CI: 0.05, 1.23) over a longer postprandial duration. It suggests that the postprandial duration is of importance when evaluating the effects of fatty acids composition on blood lipid responses.